A grand jury indicted a man shot and killed by Midland police officers on an attempted capital murder charge, according to a press release by Midland spokeswoman Sara Bustilloz.

The charge was immediately dismissed because the man, 49-year-old Rosendo Gino Rodriquez, is deceased. He was indicted for his actions in the Dec. 1 incident where he allegedly swung a machete at Midland police officers in his home before being fatally shot by two of them.

District Attorney Teresa Clingman said that because it was an officer-involved shooting a grand jury was called to find out if criminal fault was to be held with either party.

“We needed to have the entire action of both Mr. Rodriquez as well as the officers involved examined by a grand jury to see if there was probable cause to believe that either Mr. Rodriquez or the officers had committed a criminal offense,” Clingman said.

The officers involved in the case, Sgt. Mitch Russell and Officer Sean Sharp, were cleared by the grand jury of any wrongdoing from the incident. Both men will return to their regular duties at the Midland Police Department.

The incident began at 10:18 a.m. on Dec. 1 when Midland County Sheriff’s Office deputies attempted to conduct a welfare check on Rodriquez at his home in the 2700 block of Washington Avenue. Rodriquez was outside of his home and allegedly became aggressive toward the deputies before going back into his house, according to Bustilloz.

As the deputies approached the house a window broke and the deputies and a neighbor believed that Rodriquez had fired shots, according to Bustilloz. She said that no gun was found in Rodriquez’s home in the investigation following his death.

“The neighbor heard the glass shatter and thought it was shots,” Bustilloz said. “The neighbor reported hearing shots. That was part of the call that was made to us, which was that deputies and a witness believe that he had shot at mental health officials.”

She said that the shots fired call was the only reason that MPD responded to the scene. Midland police would not have responded to Rodriquez’s home unless something else had happened to prompt backup to be needed, said Bustilloz.

But when Sheriff Gary Painter was asked why the deputies called in shots fired, he said “because a bullet came through a window next to his (the deputy’s) head.”

When asked to elaborate on the claim that the shots fired call was false, Painter said that he was going off of the reports that came in.

Sgt. Russell and Officer Sharp have been on administrative leave -- per department policy -- since immediately after the incident in which they shot Rodriquez after he attacked officers with a machete in a confined space inside his home on the 2700 block of Washington Ave. The Texas Rangers immediately launched an investigation.

The officers were placed on administrative duty on Dec. 30. An MPD administrative review board found the officers to be in compliance with department policy and all state and federal laws.

“It is my belief, based on the information we’ve reviewed, that Sgt. Russell and Officer Sharp acted professionally and in accordance with their training, MPD General Orders, and state law,” said Chief Price Robinson in the release. “These officers have my full support.”

The two officers will resume their normal duties. Russell is with the West Texas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Task Force; Sharp oversees fitness training for MPD officers.